


Slowly

by moriin



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teachers, Comedy, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-06
Updated: 2018-03-06
Packaged: 2019-03-27 18:06:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13886247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moriin/pseuds/moriin
Summary: You’re a young, single mom with a loving teenage boy who barely has life figured out and is simply trying to find someone who will remind you what feels like to be loved again. Your best friend Wonwoo, who also happens to be your son’s hot literature teacher, helps you read between the lines of falling in love and leads you to him.





	Slowly

Walking into high school again brought back many memories of all the superficial cliques, shitty cafeteria food, and smelly old teachers. The facilities might have improved, if ever so slightly, but not surprisingly enough, everything else stayed the same.

The clothes have gotten much shorter, though…

You had to thank your son for your trip down memory lane after you picked him up from detention. I mean, disturbing the class!? Really!? That was it!? Not cursing out the teacher, or cheating on a quiz, but for _disturbing the class_! That didn’t sound cool at all! What did that even mean, disturbing the class? If it was something as stupid as passing notes, you were going to ground your son simply because he wasted your time.

You stomped up to the detention room to see your son being the sole one in the room sleeping on his desk as if he was at home. For Christ’s sake, not even the teacher was there!

“Unbelievable,” you scoffed, causing your son to look up startled. He rolled his eyes when he saw that it was just you, his very loud mother. “I had to leave work early and skip my after-work snack just to rush all the way over here to hear that you were ‘ _disturbing the class_ ’?” The emphasis on your air quotes was hard to miss.

“I know, Mom -”

“You’re not even studying like you should be when you’re in detention! _And_ you’re the only one in here! Where are the other kids that disturbed the class!? Or-or your teacher!?”

“The other kids got picked up fifteen minutes ago,” a deep voice interrupted behind you. Turning around, you saw your close friend slash your son’s teacher Wonwoo standing in the doorway with his shirt slightly unbuttoned and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows - almost too casual for a teacher. A smug smirk was glued to his face. “And I was in the bathroom. You’re just late.”

“What the hell, Wonwoo! What did you send my kid to detention for!?”

“That’s Mr. Jeon to you.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“You’ll call me Mr. Jeon one day,” he declared. “And I sent Jae to detention for disturbing the class.”

“Can I ask what that even means?”

“I don’t know, _can_ you?” he teased, although the look on your face told him you weren’t in the mood for his games. He cleared his throat awkwardly, “Sorry, bad grammar joke. Well, Mr. Jae was not only making drum beats from the desk with his pens, he was also rapping Shakespeare lines to all the girls in class, and this hasn’t been the first time I asked him to stop.”

“I already said that it’s my way of remembering what happened in the story!” Jae exclaimed.

“It’s a _play_.”

“Play, story, aren’t they synonymous!?”

“Was that the only reason why he got detention?” you asked incredulously.

“Well, yes -”

“You are literally the worst,” you deadpanned. “There are kids smoking weed by the baseball field and people giving blowjobs in the library and yet you chose to punish my son for trying to be creative with his learning process?”

“There aren’t kids doing that, _____…” he trailed off. You quirked your brow at him as a way to remind him that kids were pretty freaky these days. “... Ok, so maybe they are, but that doesn’t excuse Jae’s disturbance. He can do all of that stuff at home or in band, but not in my classroom.”

“I thought you wanted to be one of the _cool_ teachers ~” you mocked. “This isn’t very cool of you, you know.”

“Yeah, you’re not cool anymore!” your son said, joining in on the teasing.

“It’s moments like these where I feel like you gave birth to your fraternal twin instead of a son. Well, now that your mother finally arrive _late_ -” you stuck your tongue out in protest. “You may leave, Jae.”

“Thank you, Mr. Jeon.”

“And don’t disturb my class again, is that clear?”

“Yes, Mr. Jeon…”

“Alright, let’s go, you brat,” you muttered, pulling on his earshell as you walked out the door. “I’ll see you later, Wonwoo ~”

“Let’s catch up over dinner soon.”

“Ok, but you’re cooking since I cooked last time.”

“It’s a date.”

“In your dreams!” you yelled down the hallway.

“Ow, Mom, stop! I’m sorry!” he whined, rubbing his now pink ear when you both arrived to your car.

“You better be sorry! Now we have less time to go to the grocery store and I don’t even know what to cook tonight, all thanks to Wonwoo!”

“I mean, it kind of was my fault -”

“That’s what he wants you to think! And even if it was your fault, he knows that you’re better than the rest of those snotty, rich kids. Couldn’t he have given you some special treatment and let it slide this one time?”

“That’s called favoritism and I think it’s against the laws of teaching.”

“If the teachers can favor athletes who have their IQ match their age and have their college tuition covered, then Wonwoo can let you get away with one detention.”

“I bet you just _loved_ high school back in the day, huh, Mom?”

“How did you know?” you snorted.

“Well anyways, can you cook kimchi fried rice tonight? It’s quick and you know how to make it the best ~”

“Just because you asked for it, I won’t make it.”

“Seriously!?”

“I’m kidding ~ We’ll make your kimchi fried rice with an entire tub of _gochujang_ , just how you like it.”

“Yay ~” your son cheered before plugging in the aux cord so he could play his trashy rap songs. Before he could press play, you snatched the cord. “Hey!”

“Since you got detention, no aux cord for a week,” you said sternly.

“What!? C’mon, I told you it was my way of memorizing! Don’t you want your son to pass Lit?”

“Would you rather be grounded for a week? Because I could do either -”

“No no no! Nevermind!”

“That’s what I thought.”

\--

“So I made the varsity basketball team,” Jae blurted out in between bites of his rice.

“What, that’s great! I didn’t even know you tried out!” you beamed. “I thought you hated sports...?”

“I went as a joke last week, but I guess they liked me enough to put me on the team.”

“That’s what you get for fooling around is that you actually make the team. I can’t believe I’m going to be a basketball mom! This is the most exciting high school-related thing I’ve ever done. You’re going to become so popular I bet, aren’t you? Like, with all the cheerleaders and stuff?”

“I mean, I guess…” he blushed.

“What’s your game schedule like? I’m going to make sure that I go to all of your games. This is crazy, I’ve never seen our last name on the back of a jersey before!”

“You’re not going to be _that_ mom, are you?”

“What does that mean?”

“You know in the movies where the mom that loves the sport more than the son and puts him under a lot of pressure to use it as a way to get into a good D-1 college and then the mom gets mad at him when he decides to go somewhere else and goes, ‘ _but what about your dream!?_ ’ and then he says, ‘ _it’s not my dream… it’s yours_ ’ and then -”

“Ok, I get it,” you deadpanned. “No need to worry about all of that drama ~ I’ll just be a normal mom in the bleachers screaming at the top of my lungs letting the whole gymnasium know that I raised a star point guard all on my own.”

“Actually, I’m a shooter.”

“Even better!”

“The first game is tomorrow night at our school at seven, so don’t be late.”

“I’ll probably be late.”

He gave you a tired look, although he wasn’t surprised. When were you ever on time?

And as predicted, you were right - you arrived at the gymnasium only a couple of minutes late, but it seemed like you weren’t the only one running late - the game hadn’t even started yet when you walked in. The bleachers were packed to the very top on both the home’s side and the visiting side with students, family, and a very loud band. It was incredibly overwhelming and it made you a bit anxious. Who knew that the first game of the season was so popular?

“Nice for you to join us,” a familiar deep voice teased from behind. “Looks like I was able to see you again much sooner than I predicted. Although, you are a bit late… again.”

You swung around to give Wonwoo the fakest, widest smile you could conjure up. He always messed with you, even in your college days, and he never got tired of it, although the effect didn’t feel the same when you noticed what he was wearing. He basically wore the same trousers and white button up from yesterday, but this time he completed the outfit with a tie and a blazer, like a real adult. The glasses added a nice touch to the professionalism, although they also added to the handsomeness of his stupid, beautiful face. No matter how many years you’ve known Wonwoo, it was always weird seeing him look so proper.

What a nerd.

“Seems like I’m not the only one. Am I really considered late if the game hasn’t started yet?”

“Technically, no.”

“By the way, why are you dressed like that…?”

“What, not diggin’ the sexy teacher look?” he bragged, flexing his arms.

“Good joke!”

“Well, seeing as I’m the coach, I kind of have to dress like one.”

“You’re the coach!?” you snorted, jaw dropping a bit. “No fucking way!”

“ _Yah_ , language! There’s children here!”

“Oh, come on, Jae started swearing when he was eleven, I think a bunch of hormone-driven sixteen year olds can handle the f-bomb. Jeez, who knew that the nerdy, literature-loving gamer that spent his free time in college cooped up in his apartment turned out to be the hot, literature-loving basketball coach sixteen years later.”

“So you think I’m hot, but not sexy?”

“I’m going to punch you.”

“How about you punch me over dinner tonight?”

“Only if our team wins.”

“God, why is it so hard for me to get dinner with an old friend!?”

“I like playing hard to get,” you winked. “So is the game going to start, or what?”

“If you’ll take your seat where all the other parents are, then we’ll gladly begin,” he stated, pointing to the bleachers closest to the center floor.

“Don’t fuck it up tonight, Wonwoo!”

“It’s Mr. Jeon!”

“Whatever ~”

On your stroll to your seat, you saw your son in his basketball uniform jogging over to you. He looked absolutely precious, especially with a sweatband on his forehead!

“Hi, Mom -”

“Oh, is that my son!? My very handsome son!? Who’s a varsity player!? Hold still!” you gushed, whipping out your phone and taking multiple pictures of him at different angles.

“Mom, stop it! People are staring!” he hissed, embarrassed by all the giggles from the crowd.

“Jae, this is the first after school activity you’ve done since band camp that one year in seventh grade, now let me pretend to be a real mom and take a million pictures!”

“You’re not pretending if you’re my real mom! And we can take pictures later!”

“Fine, break your mother’s heart! I’ll see you after the game then. Shoot a bunch of threes out there, or whatever they’re called, ok!? I love you whether you win or lose, but I’ll love you more if you win!”

“You’re so great at encouragement…” Jae said sarcastically.

“Don’t disappoint the _____ name!”

You took your seat at a perfect spot on the bleachers that allowed you to take plenty of pictures and videos of your starter son. For sixteen years, after watching him sit by his desk every night playing some video game, who knew your nerd of a son was so good at basketball, let alone sports! In a way, he reminded you a lot of Wonwoo - they both loved video games, have entire novels-worth of random knowledge that they could just spit out, and now they both liked basketball apparently. Maybe this growing similarity came from Jae spending almost his entire life looking up to Wonwoo as his male role model. But who could blame your son? Wonwoo was a great friend and an amazing role model and there was no one you’d rather have your son look up to than him. But just thinking about how similar they were made both your stomach churn and your heart flutter.

It was an odd feeling, wasn’t it?

It felt like five minutes had passed when halftime arrived and all the cheerleaders came out to do their show. They reminded you of cheerleaders from your time, causing you to form an ugly scowl on your face.

“You still take billions of pictures of Jae any chance you get?” Wonwoo teased, sliding in the empty seat next to you. “You know he’s sixteen, right?”

“Sixteen billion pictures isn’t enough to capture his handsomeness ~” you gushed affectionately. “Well hey, I guess we’re having dinner tonight, huh? For some reason, you’re good at coaching.”

“As much as I want to celebrate with you, a lot can happen in the second half. And I’m an amazing coach, don’t mock me.”

“So clearly I know exactly what goes on in basketball,” you began sarcastically. “But just to clarify, Jae’s like, good at it, right?”

“He’s doing great for someone who’s only played streetball his whole life.”

“Do basketball players get a lot of injuries? Are they more susceptible to them than other sports? Because Jae’s never broken a bone and I don’t him to discover that he has some underlying heart condition or something -”

“_____.” Wonwoo held your rambling self by the shoulders and squeezed them tightly as he made you look into his eyes. For a topic quite serious, he looked at you with his kind eyes and gentle smile that always knew how to calm you down before, but this time, it did the exact opposite.

You felt like you couldn’t breathe.

“He’ll be ok,” he assured you. “I’ll be there to watch over him.”

“Remember when you said that about my betta fish our second year and two hours later you called back and said he died?”

“... That was different, Jae isn’t a fish.”

The cheering of the crowd indicated that halftime was over and it was time for Wonwoo to get back to his team. You were so caught up in the conversation that you totally forgot about the hundreds of people around you. It seemed to have become a habit lately whenever you talked to Wonwoo.

“Time for me to go back. I’ll catch you after the game,” he said before pinching your cheek playfully. “Ah, still so chubby ~”

You slapped his soft hands away from your face before he jogged over to the team. You watched him interact with boys and it softened your heart, reminding you of the times when he used to come over and watch Jae while you were doing house chores or running errands around town. When the two of you were still in school, almost ready to graduate, you can clearly remember your discussion about your future plans about children.

_”I want a cool apartment, and a dog, two cats, and a nice car, and -”_

_“Aren’t your goals a little unrealistic?” Wonwoo teased, popping another potato chip in his mouth._

_“Fine,_ one _cat. And hopefully later down the road, a baby boy.”_

_“Ugh,” he groaned, scrunching his face cutely._

_“What, you don’t want to see what your spawn would look like when you mix your genes?”_

_“No, kids are annoying.”_

_“Only for the first eighteen years of their life.”_

_“That’s a very long time…”_

_“When you meet my kid, I bet you’ll change your mind.”_

_“Challenge accepted.”_

Regardless of trying to convince him otherwise, Wonwoo was the last person you thought would have kids, and to this day, he still doesn’t have any or _want_ any, and you didn’t judge him on it, although you couldn’t help but question him. Did that mean he would never marry? Or he would he only be married and that was that? One day, when Jae was already born and learning to walk, you asked him again why he didn’t want a child of his own.

_Because I have Jae_ , was what he told you.

And you never questioned him again.

Another ‘five’ minutes had passed when the buzzer for the final quarter rang and Jae’s team took the win. You along with the entire gymnasium on the home’s side erupted with loud cheers and screams. You were for sure going to lose your voice by tomorrow.

When the crowd died down and most of the people left, Jae ran up to you with a wide grin.

“That’s my super athletic super cool son!!” you cheered, punching his arm several times.

“Ow, Mom! That’s my shooting arm!”

“Way to preserve the integrity of the _____ name! And you earned me a free dinner with Wonwoo ~”

“Is it his turn to cook tonight?”

“Yes, thank God.”

“Hey, Jae!” You and your son turned to the owner of the voice, who was a very pretty cheerleader. “Want to come celebrate with everyone at Dowoon’s house?”

“One sec! Hey, Mom, can I - stop looking at her like that!” he hissed. You kept your eyes squinted suspiciously at the group of troublesome teenagers that awaited Jae’s response. You’ve watched enough American high school dramas to know exactly where this was heading - a house full of drunk, stupid kids with no adult supervision or condoms. “Mom!”

“Fine, but if you stay past your curfew and/or you come home smelling like drugs and alcohol, I’ll make sure Wonwoo makes you a benchwarmer,” you warned.

“Ok ok, jeez…” he pouted.

“I LOVE YOU, MY BABY BOY ~!” you screamed at him as he ran towards his friends. You saw him hang his head in shame while the cheerleaders teased him. You wouldn’t be a proper mother if you didn’t embarrass him in front of cheerleaders.

“You are so embarrassing,” Wonwoo chuckled as he approached you.

“Are you surprised?”

“You’d think after sixteen years, a full-time job, and an entire child you would mature at least a little bit, but I was foolish to think you wouldn’t surprise me.”

“That you are. Now let’s go cook me some food.”

“Cook _us_ some food.”

“If that’s what you think.”

\--

“You know what I miss?” you asked while chewing your noodles. “The _budae jjigae_ you used to make at your very first apartment.”

“Seriously!? That shit was disgusting! All I ever put in there was different types of spam and hot dogs!”

“But that’s what made it so good!”

“The healthiest thing in that stew was the water.”

“And then you’d throw four slices of American cheese on it. Oh, I can just taste it ~” you gushed. “You should make it for Jae some time.”

“I’m surprised I haven’t yet.” He took your empty dishes to the sink before opening up another bottle of soju. He sighed dreamily before sitting across from you again. “Jae grew up way too fast.”

“You’re telling me. Remember when he was twelve, he was finally taller than me and I cried to you for two weeks about it?”

“Of course I do. I thought it was the cutest thing.”

“There you go again, calling me cute!” you pouted. “I’m nearly thirty-five now, how am I still cute!?”

“You’ll always look cute to me.”

“Is that all I’ll ever be to you?”

“What does that mean?”

Uh-oh. Maybe it was time to lay off the soju for a bit…

“I-I mean… you know… women liked to be called beautiful once in a while,” you lied.

“Fine. _____, you’re beautiful.”

“See, now you’re just saying it to say it.”

From across the table, Wonwoo took your hands in his and made you look into his eyes. The once-pout you held on your face immediately melted into a soft smile. Usually when you looked at Wonwoo, you would smile like this because you always thought his face was sort of funny-looking. But lately, looking at him made you feel some odd things and you hoped that these odd feelings were from the amount of soju in your bloodstream.

Gently, he squeezed your hands and said, “You’ll always look beautiful to me.”

You were thankful that Wonwoo’s grip on your hands didn’t loosen up because he would have felt you shaking in your seat. It was moments like these when you were thankful to have someone like him in your life.

You loved Wonwoo, truly and dearly.

“How are you single again?” you asked, breaking the silence.

“The same reasons you are.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you had a child from an irresponsible boyfriend when you were nineteen and ever since you gave birth, you’ve had commitment issues, nightmares about abandonment, and impossibly high standards.”

“... Ok, so one of the four reasons is the same.”

“What kind of standards are you upholding!? Who are you even comparing these women to!?”

“Don’t judge me, ok?” You only nod eagerly as you awaited his answer. With a deep sigh, a sheepish smile, and the softest voice, he said, “I compare them all to you.”

“Oh, God... Why…?” you cringed.

“If I don’t see her as someone who could be not only my lover, but my best friend, then what’s the point?”

“Aw, Wonwoo ~! You’re such a softie!”

“Don’t say I never appreciate you,” he warned.

“Fine, but you never say you love me.”

“I love you, _____,” he mocked, though his smile told you he was genuine. He tucked a loose end of hair behind your ear affectionately. “You should already know that by now.”

“I do. And I love you, too.” 

“Did you ever love him?” he asked, referring to Jae’s biological father. You dreaded the day that either he or Jae asked the question and you were thankful that Wonwoo had beaten your son to it. In his eyes, you saw doubt and fear and you wondered where it came from.

“I want to believe that I did and I’m sure in the moment, I did believe it. But now, I know for sure that I never loved him. Love shouldn’t feel that way, you know? It shouldn’t feel like I did something wrong for him to leave like that.”

“Do you ever wished he stayed?”

“Would you and I still be like this if he had?”

“No,” he stated truthfully. “I don’t think even think I would be in Jae’s life if he stayed.”

“Then him leaving me was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Wonwoo didn’t know what to say, so instead he looked down at your connected hands. You saw that he was trying to hide his growing smile to avoid your teasing. The ringing of your cellphone interrupted your deep and loving moment with your best friend - it was Jae calling.

“Hey, Jae.”

“Mom, where are you?”

“Still at Wonwoo’s, why?”

“Still!? It’s past 1:30! You’re telling me I could have stayed out longer!?”

“ _No_ , don’t you dare leave the house to go back out! I’m coming home now, so go to bed!”

“Fine ~ But hurry up, it’s past your curfew, young lady!”

“Sometimes I think you’re theory about Jae being my clone is too true,” you told Wonwoo after hanging up. “Looks like it’s past my curfew, according to him.”

“It still feels like it’s early. We just finished eating.”

“That’s because we were so used to eating meals at four in the morning when we were younger.”

“Those were the good days.”

Wonwoo led you to his front door still holding one of your hands. These days, he seemed quite clingy to you, as if you hadn’t spent much time together, when really it was the opposite - you two have been hanging out a lot recently. But you weren’t complaining. You could get used to the way his hand fit in yours.

By the door, Wonwoo pressed a soft kiss on your forehead. You were used to this side of him when he was missing you, but this kiss lingered a little longer than the rest.

“Good night, _____.”

“Good night, my clingy, affectionate nerd.”

\--

“Why are you dressed so fancy?” your son asked as he watched you straighten your fancy pants.

“It’s the parent-teacher association meeting tonight. I have to at least try to look like a mother, don’t I?”

“You’re dressed like all the other old and ugly moms.”

“Attire was supposed to be business casual or something, and these are the most business casual pants I own,” you shrugged. “Do I look like I have a fulfilling career? It feels like I’m playing dress up.”

“Isn’t that called impersonation when you’re an adult? Or better yet _lying_?”

“Hey, if impersonating or lying allows me to bring home a step-father for you, then so be it.”

“Why date some boring, old man when you have Wonwoo, my might-as-well-be step-father?” Jae snickered.

“Jae! Why would you even say that!?” you shrieked, cheeks burning a dark scarlet.

“Mom, I’ve known Wonwoo my entire life! He’s signed off as my parental guardian a few times! And the whole world knows that you two were made for each other! It’s so obvious that the whole school’s been talking about it and no matter where I go, and I can’t escape it.”

This wasn’t the first time that Jae brought up dating Wonwoo, or even the whole step-father thing. The very first time he did was when he was five - he asked you why he wasn’t allowed to call Wonwoo ‘ _Dad_ ’, and ever since, you’ve had to explain to your son over and over again that you and Wonwoo were just close friends.

But when he brought it up this time, it was different. You had trouble finding the words to talk your way out of this one.

“Everyone’s been talking about the two of you since the game. Even the other parents noticed! They saw you two flirting before, during, and after the game and said that you two looked so good together. I almost threw up...”

“We weren’t flirting and you know it! That’s how he and I talk all the time!”

“Talking in fluent sarcasm or pig latin is how you talk with your best friend, not by holding hands and fixing each other’s hair.”

“Oh, what do you know…” you muttered as you put your shoes on. “End of discussion. There’s food in the fridge or money on the counter in case you want take out. Text me if you’re leaving the house.”

“Ok, will do. Tell Dad I said hello ~!” Jae teased. You shot your son a lasting, icy glare before walking out.

The meeting tonight was going to be held in the auditorium. As usual, the room was packed with parents who were much older than you and some of the faculty sitting in the front at their own tables facing the parents. Wonwoo waved to you when you took your seat in the front row, the only row that had seats left.

“We will now begin the meeting,” the principal announced. “Tonight’s topic is going to be on our new sex-ed program.”

Oh, wow. What a pleasant surprise. It’s about time the school started getting serious about sex, because Jae’s middle school did an absolute shit job -

“Mr. Jeon will be one of the teachers facilitating the program.”

Wait, what?

You watched Wonwoo get up from his seat with wide eyes as he approached the podium. He pulled up a powerpoint - no, a _Prezi_ \- to show all the parents the education plan for one semester. You covered your mouth to prevent you from laughing out loud and you could already feel the tears of restraint brim your eyes.

“As we all know, your children are approaching an age where they think they’re ready to take their relationship with their significant other to the next level. As parents and adults looking after these children, it is our job to make sure that they are making the right choices when it comes to sex - or rather, safe sex.” A snort accidentally slipped out because you knew that Wonwoo has had plenty of unsafe sex moments and it was the irony that caused the ugly noise.

“Mr. Jeon, what if this just promotes our children to have lots of sex? Shouldn’t we be teaching them to stay celibate?” a worried mother asked.

“Mrs. Choi, we’ve all been sixteen once. Some of us have made mistakes, some of us have refused to even think about the possibilities leading up to those mistakes, and some have given birth to blessings,” he shot you a quick wink before continuing. That smooth bastard... “As a school, we are here to support whatever decision these students make, as long as it’s what they consent to and that it’s safe.”

The auditorium erupted with a brief applause. This was maybe the fifth time in all your years of knowing Wonwoo hearing him publicly speak and you were always surprised at how intellectual he sounded because he never sounds smart when he talks with you.

Wonwoo spent an entire hour educating the parents on what one of the lessons would look like. It was all about the female anatomy consisting of quick notes on body parts, the menstrual cycle, hormone balances, and types of birth controls. Who knew Wonwoo was so… educated… on such a subject.

By the end of the meeting, a line of parents got in front of Wonwoo to ask him questions about the program. You had to wait half an hour until you finally could talk to him without the pressure of another parent waiting.

“As if you weren’t already the hot teacher, you’re not the hot teacher who knows about boobs!?” you teased. “I bet all the girls will want to take your class now.”

“Even if they only take the class to stare at me all day, I just hope they get something out of it.”

“Shouldn’t it be a science teacher teaching this, not a Literature teacher? You’re not going to talk in Shakespearean are you?”

“No one else wanted the job and I thought hey, I might as well make a little money while I’m here.”

“I can’t believe Jae is going to learn about sex from you… _You_ , of all people!”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?”

“Nothing! Just now that every time I look at you, there’s a lingering thought in the back of my mind that you taught Jae the difference between a nipple and the areola.”

“Mr. Jeon?” a pretty voice interrupted. The both of you turned your heads to see that the owner of the voice was just as pretty. She reminded you of the smart and shy popular girls who received a lot of boys’ attention without even trying. “That was a great presentation you gave just now!”

“Oh, thank you, Miss Park,” he chuckled awkwardly. You noticed his cheeks were tinting pink, causing you to form a scowl on your face as she ignored your presence.

“I didn’t know you knew so much about the female anatomy,” she teased in a sultry tone. “Maybe you could educate me some time -”

“Ugh,” you audibly groaned. You couldn’t take much more of the flirting, so you turned your heel and walked away from the scene without saying goodbye to Wonwoo.

“_____!” he called after you, but you were too angry to look back.

You shouldn’t be feeling so defensive, let alone angry at him for reacting so, um, _well_ to Miss Park’s charm, but you felt that struck of jealousy in your heart that you always tried to suppress right away hit you like a bus. It felt different, like all the other feelings you had recently about Wonwoo.

It felt different and you hated it and you couldn’t control it - not even a little bit.

“ _Yah_ , _____!” the hallways echoed. Too embarrassed to look back at him, you kept your pace towards the exit. You weren’t fast enough though, as Wonwoo wrapped his arms around your waist and swung you around.

“Put me down!” you screamed between your giggles. “You know I hate being lifted up like a child!”

“Then stop acting like one!”

He finally put you back down on your feet before wrapping his arm around your shoulders so you wouldn’t escape from him again. He was so persistent when it came to your forgiveness or whenever you were mad and you hated that no matter what he did, you caved in so easily.

“Were you jealous of Miss Park, Miss _____?” he asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re jealous that Miss Park wants me to teach her about the female anatomy.”

“She’s got a lot of _anatomy_ , that’s for sure…” you muttered bitterly, clearly envisioning her assets.

“C’mon, don’t be mad! It’s not my fault that I’m the hot, literature-loving teacher. Besides, I told her that my heart and my entire circulatory system belongs to you.”

“You’re so… romantic…”

“Speaking of romance, do you…” he paused for dramatic effect. “Want to go to homecoming with me?”

“What?”

“Homecoming? You know, like, the second best thing to ever happen in our adolescent lives, second to prom?” he mocked.

“You’re asking me to a high school dance?” Repeating it back to Wonwoo, it sounded a lot stupider than you thought.

“I’m one of the chaperones and I thought it would be fun if you went with me. But if you’re not free, I can go back and ask Miss Park -”

“I’ll go.”

“Great! I’ll pick you up at six.” A lasting smirk was left on his lips as he released you from his hold.

Oh God, what did you just agree to?

\--

“You know, going to homecoming together is kind of serious, Mom,” Jae teased as he fixed his tie in front of you rmirror. “It’s not as serious as prom, but it’s like, up there, you know?”

“If it wasn’t that serious back in my days, then I bet it’s not serious now. Besides, we’re just chaperoning, it’s not like we can take our eyes off of you horny teenager’s wandering hands.”

“Gross, Mom…” You two heard the doorbell ring and Jae practically sprinted to the door. “I’ll get it!”

Oh, shit, that was probably Wonwoo. Taking the last couple of seconds you had left, you straightened your long dress, fixed the loose ends of your hair, and took deep breaths to calm you down.

Tonight wasn’t a big deal. It was just two friends chaperoning.

“Mom! It’s your date!” Jae yelled.

“Little brat…” you cursed.

At your front door, you saw a patient Wonwoo dressed in all black with a corsage in his hand. His eyes widened at the sight of you, in such an elegant dress, walking towards him like you owned his heart.

“Why hello, Miss _____.”

“Stop calling me that, it’s weird.”

“Are you ready to chaperone with me?”

“Yeah. Tonight’s going to be interesting.”

“Don’t stay out too late, kids!” Jae mocked.

“I’ll have her home by midnight,” Wonwoo winked.

“And not a second later!”

You shut the door on Jae before the awkward conversation could continue any further. Wonwoo held out his arm to you and you gladly accepted.

“You look beautiful,” he noted. “I can’t remember the last time I saw you in a dress like this.”

“You look alright, I guess.”

“Ah, just alright!?”

“I’m kidding. You know I like my men in all black.”

“That’s exactly why I wore it.”

Your night at homecoming with Wonwoo might as well have been a giant babysitting job. You caught three boys trying to spike the punch, thirteen couples who needed to dance with room for Jesus, and had to reject five boys who asked you to dance with them. You thought this was going to be a fun night with your best friend, but you shouldn’t have expected too much, since he was one of the teachers, after all.

A slow song came on when Wonwoo sat beside you, out of breath and feeling defeated.

“I have three girls ask me to dance,” he chuckled. “How about you?”

“Zero girls, but five boys.”

“Damn, you beat me. How about we call it even and you dance with me instead?”

He didn’t even bother waiting for your answer as he took both of your hands and pulled you to your feet. You didn’t resist, either. He made you wrap your one of your arms around his neck and he slipped one of his around your waist, pulling you so close that you were sure another chaperone would tell you two to separate. His hand fit perfectly in yours and your swayed slowly to the music. While dancing to a song so slow, you felt the world around you slow down with it.

Immersed in a moment like this, you forgot about all the people around you.

“This reminds me of the time when you and I slow danced in your living room while you were still pregnant with Jae,” Wonwoo said, breaking the silence. “Do you remember?”

“It was after I cried my eyes out from being so scared, right? God, I was such a baby… I’ve cried to you way too many times in my adult life.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Mm… Me, too…” you sighed. “Wonwoo?”

“Hm?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too -”

“I don’t think you understand,” you interrupted. “You’ve been by my side for sixteen years. I don’t know where Jae and I would be without you.”

“_____ -”

“No, I need to tell you before I chicken out like I always do!” You pulled away from the closeness of his body to look him straight in the eyes. What the hell did you just do!? Well, seeing as you you already started this mess, you might as well finish it. There was no going back now. “You’ve been mine and Jae’s biggest support system. You’re the father he’s never had. You’re my best friend, Wonwoo, but… I think I’m in love with you…”

Wonwoo held a wide grin the entire confession, easing your insecurities but his silence was killing you! He pressed his forehead against yours.

“Do you know what you just did?” he whispered. “You just confessed to me at a high school homecoming, of all places.”

“Yeah…”

“It couldn’t have been at my house last week!? Or you couldn’t have waited until later tonight when I dropped you home!?”

“You knew all these years, huh?”

“After you stopped dating when you were twenty-three, I figured you were just waiting for the right time to confess to me.”

“What the hell, why didn’t you just do it first!?”

“I only had my eyes for you, _____,” he admitted softly. “I always have. I was waiting until you realized that on your own.”

“You waited sixteen years for me?”

“I’d wait sixteen more if I have to.”

“I know you would.” You pulled Wonwoo into a fire-y kiss that shouldn’t be seen in a high school full of high school students, but his lips were so soft and sweet that you didn’t want to stop.

“Mm, there’s kids watching ~” he whined in between kisses.

“Tell them it’s part of your sex-ed syllabus.”

“You’re so weird... Wanna ditch this lame popsicle stand and go home?”

“Won’t you get in trouble?”

“Nah, they’re about to announce the King and Queen anyways,” he winked. “By the way, Jae’s the King.”

Wonwoo slipped away from your grip and sprinted towards the exit. And you thought _you_ were the eager one… You followed closely behind him with a heavy weight lifted from your shoulders. By the time you arrived back at your home, the two of you could barely keep your hands off of each other as you clumsily travelled to the bedroom.

The first time kissing Wonwoo was exactly how you imagined it to be - full of smiles, laughs, and genuine happiness. You probably spent an entire hour under your sheets just kissing each other, unable to believe or get used to the fact that this was really happening. But you two were the happiest people on Earth right now.

It was like you were experiencing love like you were kids again for the very first time.

And that’s exactly how Wonwoo wanted you to fall in love with him. Slowly - _very_ slowly - but surely, like love had never existed in your life before him.

“I love you,” you told him for the hundredth at four in the morning.

“I love you, too,” he told you for the hundred and first time.


End file.
